Manufacturing equipment vendor Centrotherm Photovoltaics sold 2.3GW of solar cell production equipment in just a few days last month to customers in Asia. And the German firm expects further business from the region as the solar cell sector is expected to install a total of between 8GW and 12GW of new production capacity this year.
“We are in promising contractual negotiations about major projects with further customers in Asia,” said Hans Autenrieth, a Centrotherm director.
The news came just two weeks after Centrotherm announced upbeat results for its first half, and raised its full-revenue forecast for 2010 to €580-600 million. In H1 2010, Centrotherm increased revenues by 5.4% to €278 million, while its operating profit (EBIT) improved by 31.3% to €33.9 million. The company’s order book also increased by more than one-and-a-half times to €864 million.
Robert Hartung, Centrotherm’s chief executive officer, explained the company’s success was due to premium cost leaders among solar cell and module suppliers opting for Centrotherm products. “This is why we are... thriving in a solar cell and module market that is characterised by overcapacities,” he added.
In August, Centrotherm also announced that it had further expanded its position in Asia by the commissioning of a high-performance production facility for Taiwan PolySilicon Corporation. The plant is designed to have an annual production capacity of 5,000 tonnes, with an upgrade option to 8,000 tonnes, and the first production run has delivered polysilicon above usual standards in the silicon market.
Centrotherm, which designed the factory, provided basic engineering, process know-how and the reactors and converters required for polysilicon manufacturing.
During August, Centrotherm’s share price increased 7.7% to €33.45.
Market: Frankfurt
Symbol: CTN
Price: €33.45
Market Cap: €710m
12 month high/low: €48.50/€23.60
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